Through the Looking Glass
by Nokomiss
Summary: Sequel to Strange Vicinity. Break on through to the other side. FaithJason, Batman crossover.


Title: Through the Looking Glass

Summary: Break on through to the other side.

Pairing: Faith/Jason Todd

Rating: R

Word count:3094

AN: Huge thanks to my wonderful beta, Rainpuddle13! Sequel to Strange Vicinity. Set post-season 3, Buffyverse, and the Red Hood era, Batverse.

* * *

"Jesus fuck!" Faith leapt up off the cold pavement, pulling out her favorite blade and crouching into her favorite stance, prepared to fight. It had happened fast - too fast; a demon, a sorcerer and the familiar flash of a portal, and now she was in dark and unfamiliar surroundings with someone lurking near an overflowing dumpster.

She watched them carefully, but they were standing stock-still and giving her no clues about who or what it was or what its intentions were.

Then, the stranger charged her. She caught a glimpse of a ragged coat, bloodshot eyes and bulging neck veins as she easily turned the attack in her favor, slamming the unknown man to the ground. Up close, he seemed even less of a threat, twitchy and with darting, terrified eyes. Some kind of strung out junkie, by her best guess. Nothing supernatural. One good punch and he was out. She knew it was hopeless, but she looked in his pockets quickly, hoping for some cash. Always good to have some kind of backup in a strange place. Nothing but scratched-off lotto tickets.

She stood, brushing dirt off the knees of her leather pants, when she noticed another figure standing in a darkened doorway leading to one of the buildings that lined the alley. This one was leaning casually on the doorframe, and was wearing what looked like the retarded offspring of a ski mask and a helmet on his head.

"How many freaks are lurking in this alley, anyway?" she griped aloud

The guy slowly clapped. "You really know your way around an unconscious man's pockets, sweetheart. I admire that in a girl."

"Big talk from someone who stood around and watched while an innocent girl got attacked," Faith said with a smirk.

"You hardly look innocent," replied the guy.

She moved her knife so that it would catch a the thin light that filtered into the alley from a streetlight, and laughed. "Maybe I'm not so innocent."

A smooth movement, and he was holding a wicked curved blade in his hand and began to move closer.

"Come to mama," Faith said, flicking her hands in a come-and-get-me gesture. She was all fired up from the sudden world-shift, and taking down the junkie hadn't taken any of the edge off.

When he responded with a sudden, brutal kick aimed at her head, Faith was surprised to note that he actually knew what he was doing. The night was looking even more interesting, she thought, dodging the kick and moving closer to aim a hit of her own.

She thought she saw the lenses in his mask widen when she managed to make contact with the first punch.

"You pack a wallop," he said, eyeing her as he moved back. Trying to figure out what made her tick, Faith thought, seeing how his stance echoed countless demons she'd started fighting before they realized she was the slayer.

"I haven't seen what you're packing yet," Faith teased, dancing back a little more, preparing to attack again. She sure as hell wanted to avoid the blade he had, because she could tell it was designed to cut sharp and to the quick.

"More than you can handle, sweetheart," he replied easily before lunging, knife first, at her.

He had surprisingly fast hands, Faith thought as she narrowly avoided getting sliced from forearm to elbow. And clearly wasn't to be underestimated.

A lot like her.

But she still had an advantage. She was stronger than him, even though she was beginning to doubt with every hit and kick they threw at each other that she had more experience. He fought like it was his entire life, just like her. But he clearly subscribed to more formal training than she had, because he was on par with her natural grace.

His foot clipped her ear before she could duck and sent her reeling. Her knife flew from her hand, and she cursed herself for the stupidity. He had taken the advantage from her, and she wasn't going to take that lying down.

He gasped as he took the brunt of her furious punch as she charged at him, angry because of the turn to pear-shaped that the world had taken in the past few minutes. Faith hit him again in the shoulder in a way she knew would numb his arm for several minutes, and the knife fell from his now-limp hand.

She kicked it way as she swept his feet out from under him. She straddled him, pinning him down, and smirked.

"This goofy-ass hat of yours there just to keep the sun out of your eyes, or are you hideously scarred under there?" Faith asked, grabbing it in both hands and giving it a hard jerk.

It came off and landed in a soggy pile of old newspapers nearby, and Faith stared at the face, which still had on a goofy little mask, trying to figure out why it looked so damn familiar.

He used her distraction against her. A sharp twist of her arm, and she was being flung off him. She stumbled to her feet. He was off the ground and pinning her to the wall impressively fast, which jogged Faith's memory just enough.

"I remember you, sweet cheeks!" she said, wriggling an arm free and brazenly pinching his ass. "Finally got some pants, I see. Get tired of all the rope burn?"

Even through the creepy as hell white lenses on his mask, Faith could tell he was blinking with confusion.

"What, that many hot girls appear out of portals and save you from Vegans Gone Wild?" Faith laughed.

"A lot has happened since then," he said, leaning in a little harder on the arm he still had in his grasp.

"I'll say, big boy," Faith said, ignoring the way her trapped wrist was grinding against the brick wall and running her free hand appreciatively across his shoulders. "Someone's been eating his Wheaties."

"You don't look all that different," he said with a calculating expression. "Time must move differently..."

Faith saw her window of opportunity and head-butted him. She used her momentum to twist away from the wall, and slammed him against the wall, using her slayer strength to maintain the advantage. "Surrender?"

"Depends on the terms," he replied, looking over his shoulder at her. "But you shouldn't trust strangers in strange places, you know. I might be a stone-cold killer nowadays."

"That would make two of us," Faith confided with a hint of a snarl. "You really want to continue this?"

She didn't let him loose. She wasn't quite ready for this fight to be over- her body was filled with adrenaline, and without a kill, the fight just lacked the climax she needed. Wanted.

She felt his shoulders shake. "You're good, kitten," he said, laughter in his voice. "But you don't know Gotham."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Faith snarled in his ear.

"What I mean is you need me," he said. "Because I can guaran-fucking-tee that where you're from is a cotillion compared to what you're gonna find here."

"If you're the sort of big bad that lurks in the dark here, then this is gonna be a hootenanny," Faith chuckled. "Seriously, a helmet and a knife? Where's the pizzazz?"

"Well, snookems, I'm hardly the only thing that lurks in these shadows," he replied.

She loosened her grip a little, wondering what shade the bruises under his jacket were turning. "And you want to help a misplaced girl out? Help her kill some time waiting for her portal in shining armor to return?"

He turned around, back now against the wall, and gave her an irresistible grin. "I'm a heroic sort of guy."

"Mm-hmm, I believe that," Faith answered. She brushed away the grime from the wall that had embedded in his cheek. "What sort of danger are you planning on saving me from?"

"Depends on what sort of danger you want to get up to," he murmured, running a finger along the neckline of her top. Faith didn't have time to come up with a response before he stiffened, looking skyward instead of at what she was thrusting towards his chest.

She looked too, and saw, partially obscured by the building they were against, a white signal, stark against the pollution and clouds of the night sky.

"Is that a bat?" Faith asked, squinting a bit. "This town really into Meatloaf or something?"

"Something," he said distractedly. He took a half-step to the side, away from her, like he was going to go follow the light like it lead to baby Jesus or something.

"Hold up, there, cowboy. You've got me all revved up," Faith panted. "You're not going to leave before we've ended this, are you?" She grabbed his belt buckle and gave it a little tug, just to make sure he didn't miss her meaning.

He froze, looking back at her, indecision frighteningly clear on his masked face. Faith was almost certain he was going to flee, but then he shook his head slightly, seemingly to himself, and consciously loosened his posture into relaxation again.

"Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint such," a pause and a smirk, "a lady."

Faith remembered kissing him before - quick and hot and wet - but this time, his lips met hers with bruising force, and he used the opportunity to force her backwards until she bumped into the opposite wall. One of his hands was inside her jacket, squeezing her breast, while the other groped her ass.

She leaned her head back, pressing against the cold brick, and laughed. "Learned all sorts of new tricks, haven't we?"

"As I recall, you never got to see my old tricks," he replied.

"Do I still call you 'Robin'?" she asked, loosening her grip on his belt buckle enough to actually undo it.

A stiffness in him that had nothing to do with her hands, and he glanced back up at the light in the sky before murmuring, "No. I'm just Jason."

"Well, hello there, Jason," Faith purred, plunging her hand into his pants. "I see you never found those brass balls."

He laughed, a sudden, breathless sound, and then looked around. "Maybe I keep them cunningly disguised. We should go - somewhere else."

"Why, in case the junkies see a bit of action and get jealous?" Faith asked as he took her by the wrist and pulled her hand free.

"Because this location isn't secure," he said, stepping away, and quickly redoing his belt, turning to look around the alley suspiciously.

"Oh, did I stumble into a crazy spy movie? Are there eyes everywhere?" Faith snorted.

He looked back at her over his shoulder and grinned. "Maybe."

"Fine. Somewhere close, though, in case my portal comes back," Faith said. "And I hate the fact that I had to say something that ridiculous out loud."

His grin widened as he motioned around them. "I'm sure one of these apartments is empty."

"Ooh, breaking and entering. Two of my favorite things," Faith said. "Lead the way, Romeo."

* * *

"This one," Jason said, stopping on the ledge in front of a third-floor apartment that overlooked their alley. The windows were all dark, and there was no neon gleam of electronics inside. The window was painted shut, and he pulled a lockpick out of one of his pockets, but Faith waved him aside. She gave the windowsill a sharp jerk, hearing breaking noises inside the jam.

"Advantage of being wicked strong," she said. "No lockpicking necessary. Besides... what fun is it if there's no actually _breaking _ with the entering?"

He pushed open the window and climbed inside, then held out a hand to assist her inside like a gentlemen. Once she took in the apartment they had chosen, Faith immediately began to giggle.

"What?"

"Dude, this is an old lady's apartment! There are cat figurines. And potpourri pillows," Faith said, looking around.

"What, not dirty enough for you here?" Jason grinned.

"If there's a rubber sheet on the mattress, I'm outta here. I'm not revved up that badly," Faith said.

Jason looked around, then began to laugh. "Want to see if there are any cookies in the kitchen?"

Faith let out a loud burst of laughter, stark in the silent room. "After you," she said, motioning gallantly.

In the kitchen, they found a chocolate cake sitting on the counter, and Faith grinned as she cut them each a piece. "This is not my usual style, for the record."

"What, you don't normally eat stolen cake with strange men in alternate universes?" Jason said wryly. "I never would have guessed."

"Normally I just let the strange men eat cake," Faith smirked. "No floral tablecloths or alternate dimension masked boys whatsoever. You plan on leaving that thing on all night?"

"You planning on keeping me all night?"

"Well, were you gonna ride me hard and put me up wet?" Faith asked. "Cause that'll take all night, baby."

Jason responded by flicking a forkful of chocolate frosting at Faith. She glanced down where it landed on her cleavage. "Your mess, you clean it up," she offered, taking another bite.

He dropped his fork on his plate with a clank, and moved to Faith's side of the table. He knelt in front of her chair, and Faith obligingly spread her legs so that he could get closer. He carefully slid her leather jacked off her shoulders. Faith helped by wriggling out of the jacket completely as he set his hands on her sides, sliding them underneath her thin tank top, She leaned in closer to his face, and he took the opportunity and licked the chocolate clean away, trailing his tongue along the swell of her breast.

"Mmm," Faith sighed. "This is good cake."

"We should leave a thank-you note," Jason offered. He pulled Faith's tank top off, leaving her in just a black lace bra. She just tangled her hand into his short hair and let her head fall back with an appreciative moan.

When he pulled away, she traced her fingers around the edge of his mask. "You know, what with the whole residing in different dimensions thing, the secret identity thing isn't so much a concern. And plus it's a little freaky, looking at those white eyes."

He murmured an agreement, and Faith was surprised by the dark blue eyes that were revealed.

"How do you avoid the tan line?" she asked.

"That's what the helmet's for. Plus, you know, nocturnal."

Faith traced her fingertips along the skin the mask covered. It seemed more delicate, somehow, in a way that had nothing to do with its thinness.

"Betty Crocker isn't going to show up, is she?" Faith asked, pushing off Jason's jacket and trailing her fingers appreciatively across his muscular stomach.

"Don't think so," Jason replied, pulling Faith up out of her chair and kissing a bit of chocolate off the corner of her mouth before moving a little lower and nipping at her neck. "Too much cat food set out. I think she's out of town or something."

"Good," Faith murmured. "Because I don't want to shock her with what I'm going to do to you in her bed."

"Rubber sheets and all?"

Faith squeezed him through his pants and said, "Come on, soldier boy. I've got a few missions for you, if you can handle them."

From the gleam in his eyes, she thought he would handle them just fine.

* * *

Faith woke slowly, stretching and feeling a delicious tingle along her body from the night's exertions. She plucked the sheet, which had a horrid cabbage-rose design, off her lover's body and peeked.

"Great googli-moogli," she said, letting out an appreciative wolf-whistle. "Still a hottie in the morning."

His lips curled upwards and she smacked him on the shoulder. "Pretending you're asleep? Cheap trick, helmet hair."

Bright blue eyes cracked open. "Don't worry, I understand that you can't keep your hands off me."

"I noticed that I didn't have to peel you out of those cute little panties," Faith said, looking around for her bra. "Shame. They really showed off those legs of yours."

Jason stiffened, then said in a forced light tone, "I blew off that gig."

"Bad break with the boss?" Faith found her bra halfway under the bed, and gave a displeased sigh as she stuck her fingers through a ragged hole in one of the cups.

"Got killed by a clown and my mother," he admitted.

"Sucks to be you," Faith said. Maybe resurrections weren't that odd round these parts. They seemed to happen often enough in Sunnydale. "Clowns and mothers are some of my least favorite things. They both have that smell, you know."

"Cheap makeup?"

She laughed. "Cheap booze's more like it."

Jason shook his head. "So what happened to that blonde hottie you were with last time?"

"We had a disagreement about what's a-okay and shit." Faith paused, but then figured, _what the hell_ . He'd told her his sob story, she might as well reciprocate. "She stabbed me with my own knife, and I was in a coma for a wicked long time."

They looked at each other.

"Do they constantly bitch you out just because you kill people who completely deserve it?"

"And act all high and mighty, even though your way is clearly better?"

Faith laughed throatily. "Looks like I've found a kindred spirit in the night."

"Anytime," Jason growled, pinning her back down on the bed and kissing her throat.

Faith was just getting into familiarizing herself with his best assets when the old-fashioned alarm clock on the bed side table began to ring loudly.

"It's six," Jason said. "Damn it."

"Got a hot date?"

"I was planning on taking out this drug lord," he explained. "He got his shipment at four, by now he's probably distributing them to his dealers."

"And you want to take him out like bang-bang?" Faith asked. "I'm in for a little action. More action, I mean."

"You don't want to watch for your portal to reappear?"

Faith thought about Sunnydale and Los Angeles and disapproving faces and killjoys abounding, and grinned. "I'm not so much a lie back and think of England kind of girl. Maybe that super secret spy you were worried about will keep an eye out."

"Then let's hit the shower," Jason said, pulling her out of bed. "And go have a little fun."

Faith narrowly avoided tripping over the plastic mattress pad they'd ripped from the bed in annoyance halfway through the night. "Let's go, cowboy."


End file.
